Lucky Charlies
by the maids diaries
Summary: Mrs. Hughes is babysitting little Charlie one night and Mr. Carson is curious about it.
1. Chapter 1

_**Lucky Charlie's**_

**Chapter 1 **

The arrangement was not right or appropriate, after all she was a busy woman, full of tasks in Downton and definitely could not give up her rest, but how to say no to _him_? It was impossible. Charlie had only to look at her and everything suddenly softened. Not everything, her. Her personal barriers were reduced to powder and let she let herself get involved with the laughter and dimples from that baby. It was easy, so frighteningly easy.

"Be good." Said Ethel giving a kiss on the boy's forehead.

She wished Ethel good luck and took the child in her arms, cradling him gently to her chest, keeping him properly covered and protected from the cold breeze that swept the land that time of night. Watched as Ethel climbed on her bike and pedaled back to the village, making Charlie wave to his mother. Maybe she should be more affectionate with her, she thought for a moment, after all, the poor girl was leading a hard life to compensate her own mistakes. She knew Ethel needed support, but was she able to do that for_ her_? Elsie didn't know.

But all her feelings and weights were forgotten the moment Elsie sat in her chair in the pantry, with Charlie bouncing gently on her knees. The boy's laughter filled the air, tearing her tender smiles. It was somewhat rewarding to take care of him and allow herself to be completely maternal one time or another.

"You like it, don't you?" She smiled at the boy as he stretched his arms towards her, totally babbling incoherent words.

"Mrs. Hughes, what ..." Charles Carson stopped between the door and the chair where she was when he saw the child. It was late, most servants had retired and the family had gone to London to look for the wedding dresses, taking O'Brien, Anna and Thomas with them. She saw no problem in her taking care of the child for a few nights.

However, Charles Carson looked at her in surprise, blinking a few times. The boy, in the woman's lap, stretched his back to watch him with curiosity.

"Whatis_ this_ doing here?"

"_Him_, Mr. Carson, not _this_." She corrected him seriously before looking back at the boy with a smile.

"Whatever. What is he doing here, Mrs. Hughes?"

"I'll take care of him for a few nights until Ethel finds someone who can stay with him during the night."

"So I assume she got a job, am I right?" Charles recovered from the initial shock and sat in the chair in front of her, making Charlie squirm even more in the hands of Elsie to be able to observe him.

"Yes, you are, she will clean the pub at night. Although this is not the most suitable job, it pays better than some cleanings do."

They exchanged a meaningful glance. An employment in the pub couldn't be compared with the job she once possessed in Downton, and if she had been prudent and respectable, worked hard and diligently, she would one day evolve. But the desperate situation in which Ethel had been found, there were not many alternatives. At least at the pub she would earn enough to support herself and Charlie with a minimum of dignity.

"Lady Grantham knows about it?" His eyebrow arched, and he studied her attentively with his intense gaze. Elsie had lied once trying to protect Ethel, might as well do it a second time for the boy.

He knew how she had clung to the child and mother, even though she hadn't known it herself. The maternal side was instinctive in women, part of their essence, and for women like her, with no children, it tended to arise with certain people. Anna, William, Ethel and now the baby had the privilege of being beneath the protective wings of Elsie Hughes.

Charles smiled at the thought, but she did not even notice; Elsie had eyes only for the baby and kept talking while she rocked him on her knees, making him laugh again, oblivious of everything else.

"I do not see why she needs to know, it will be just for a few days and she was so busy the last time I saw her that I saw no reason to tell about it. By the time the family is back from London Ethel will have already found someone else to take care of him. You don't need to make this a big deal, Mr. Carson. "

"And until then you will have many sleepless nights."

Elsie rolled her eyes, allowing a soft chuckle to escape her lips. How dull could Charles be sometimes! She wondered if he had really taken care of Lady Mary as a child and wondered about his abilities, a few years before she came to Downton.

"Mr. Carson, he will sleep most of the night, as will I, do not worry."

"And where will he stay?"

"I made a temporary crib and put it in my room. Any more questions?" She asked with the most patient tone as possible, with a tinge of mockery only to tease him, as she returned her gaze to him briefly.

Charles furrowed his brow, making his eyebrows come together and once again Elsie felt like laughing, but this time caught herself and smiled kindly, leaving him even more intrigued. Well yes, it was a mystery to him why she would have agreed to provide such assistance with all the tasks she already carried.

"Are you, by any chance, concerned with the fact that we'll have a gentleman sleeping in the women's hallway for a few days?" Elsie continued provoking, with a slight smile curling her lips in derision.

"The gentleman in question cannot do any damage to the ladies, though." _Not the harm I could cause you if I had the chance_. He thought before he could stop himself.

The baby was sick of stretching to study Charles and Elsie and appeared not to enjoy having her attention drawn to the other gentleman, starting just to grumble in his own language.

"What is it? Are you hungry?" She looked at the clock on the wall opposite was past ten and very much beyond the time for him to be in bed.

Charlie stretched his arms toward her, agreeing with his almost unintelligible language, only to tear a new smile from her. Cradling the child to her chest and kissing his forehead, Elsie roused from her chair, not realizing that the older man carefully studied her again under a sweet look. Would it be like that if she had had her own children? He wondered while admiring her. Certainly yes, and he could only imagine that her children were also his, in a fantasy, in his wildest dreams, while letting go with the tenderness of the moment and the feeling of welcome that those fantasies brought him until she addressed him again.

"Can you help me for a moment, Mr. Carson?"

"With that, Mrs. Hughes?"

While it seemed to him a mystery, a smile sprouted on Elsie's lips, combining perfectly with her bright eyes, and causing him to regret that very moment.

**One more to go.**


	2. Chapter 2

**N/a: Thank you Duda for help me with this one! Love you sweetie! And thank you all for the alerts and the lovely reviews!  
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**Chapter 2**

Elsie stood in the doorway and watched them, holding the baby bottle between her fingers. Charles had settled comfortably in his chair with Charlie lying in his arms. Affection was what she felt at the scene. For someone who did not want the child there and claimed to have no experience with babies, Charles seemed to have quite a way with children. His relaxed posture only demonstrated it further.

He certainly would have been a great father, patient and kind, and a good husband... She stopped herself before her mind could go any further. He would have been the perfect husband, but fantasizing about that would only bring bitterness and regret, which did not fit with her reality. Elsie did not regret having been in Downton all these years, not quite. She had him after all, hadn't she? Even if he was not her husband as she idealized, as she wished, he was hers in a way. Charles Carson was her companion, her equal, her complement.

Then she heard his voice, low and quiet. He was talking to the baby while watching him closely, disconnected from everything else, unable even to notice that she was standing there. She pricked up her ears, not containing the curiosity, and held her breath in anticipation.

"You're the lucky Charlie, aren't you, bud?" A smile curved his lips. "You receive her love, sit in her lap, and get the most beautiful smiles. And, as if it isn't enough, you still receive all her hugs and kisses! Do you think that's fair?" Elsie noticed that one of his hands caressed Charlie's belly slowly, and the boy looked at him giggling. "You don't understand me, but you still laugh at me?"

He released a deep breath and continued:

"I cannot understand how you won her over! You don't talk, you have no hair, you cannot do anything by yourself, and you are not even tall enough. Oh, and you still…slobber!" Charles's face contorted and Elsie twitched her lips with the urge to burst out in laughter. "Anyway, I was wondering how you won _my girl's_ heart in such a short time! I've been trying to do it for over twenty years and never managed, so how did you?"

Charlie laughed out loud, babbling his baby language, incomprehensible to everyone, making Charles nod thoughtfully, as if he understood it for a moment.

On the other side of the door Elsie felt her heart soften and a feeling of numbness taking over her and quickly spreading through her body. Was she hearing right? She couldn't help but doubt her ears.

"I thought it was the age at first, and I cannot compete with you on that. But you do not understand anything I'm saying, then why am I doing this anyway?" Charlie reached out his chubby arm in Charles direction, just managing to grab his pinkie, and he smiled at the boy.

Elsie had to come in sooner or later and could not ignore the warning ringing in her mind. She had heard too much, hurt Charles intimacy to satisfy her curiosity and now that she knew too much, she wished for ignorance. Everything seemed extremely more difficult now. _"My girl"_ he had said. How long has it been since she was a girl? She sighed heavily, letting a warm smile take place in her lips before taking a deep breath and push the door open quickly, entering the pantry with an alleged rush. Perhaps the sudden burst in could explain the blush that covered her face.

"Mrs. Hughes." He had been slightly startled, and sat upright in his chair again, forcing Charlie to sit on his lap.

The boy immediately appeared dissatisfied with the sudden change of position, but his eyes caught the woman and soon the baby bottle, making him forget everything. Elsie smiled while she watched the boy and bent down towards Charles seat.

"Here it is." She said passing the baby bottle to the boy's hands, who knew exactly what he should do. Charlie was such a clever boy, she thought, as she kept one hand supporting the weight of the baby bottle while Charlie drank his milk vigorously.

"Let me..." Charles began to try to hold the baby bottle so that Elsie could settle, but when his fingers touched hers the words were suddenly lost and they simply stared at each other.

It was hard to look at him directly now; she lost her breath for a moment and felt herself blushing even more. How to deal with that situation? Elsie withdrew her hand from his quickly and sat down in her chair, staring absently at the fire before returning her eyes to her own hands, clasped together in her lap.

A jolt struck Charles's stomach when he fixed his eyes in those blue eyes of hers. She certainly had heard his words and now pitied him. She knew it; Charles was sure when she walked away and sat, unable to look at him. She knew it and dismissed him. He had lost it all; he had lost her, he knew, and felt himself sinking into an endless void.

"Easy, boy." He murmured to the little boy, turning his attention to him, trying to sound totally ignorant of her discomfort.

The tension in the air substantially increased, making it almost tangible. There was nothing he could say. She certainly despised him, thought he was an old fool, and the best he could do was pretend he had not noticed anything and maybe she would feel comfortable with him again, but it seemed impossible. Almost. He cast her a quick look again and saw that she was distracted, lost in her own thoughts. He swallowed. A flurry of contradictory thoughts took hold of him and all Charles thought he was able to do was sink in those, deeper and deeper.

Elsie tried to think of something to say, a matter to be discussed, a left conversation to finish, anything, but suddenly everything had fled and she felt embarrassed. The silence of that moment was not the comfortable silence that they had shared many times; instead it was a heavy and charged silence. She noticed Charles squirming in his chair with tense shoulders, he seemed miserably sad and it touched her. It would be so lovingly and wonderfully easy to throw herself in his arms saying that she had heard everything and revealing that his feelings had the reciprocity of hers, but no. She twisted her hands in a nervous gesture and said, trying to use the most casual tone she could:

"I see that he likes you."

"I think so, Mrs. Hughes." There was no emotion in his voice and he didn't look at her.

Charlie began to blink more slowly as the milk in the bottle diminished and he felt sleepy. She stuck to observing the child, until his little hands slipped from the baby bottle and he fell asleep, leaning in Charles's body. Elsie took the bottle gently, ready to remove the boy from the man's lap and take him to the bed, but Charles stepped forward.

"I'll put him in bed if you allow me, Mrs. Hughes."

"Of course, Mr. Carson."

Charles cradled the boy next to his chest and left. Elsie bit her lower lip as she watched Charlie's little hands gripping the butler's shoulder. There was something she could do to break the tension between them, to make all those dreams come true, but was she ready for it?

**TBC**

**reviews are very appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 3

**N/A: thank you for all lerts and kind reviews, they made me very happy! :D And once again, thank you Duda, for help me with this one.**

**Chapter 3**

Elsie did not linger in the pantry or in the kitchen. She washed the baby bottle quickly and then automatically went upstairs, her thoughts fixed on Charles the entire time.

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her hands were cold and trembling; for the first time in her life she was afraid of something, really afraid. He not only seemed upset, he _was_. She knew him well enough to know that thousands of thoughts were spinning in his head, but none of them were the right one. How could he have never noticed her feeling all these years? Dull, as most men are.

How could she change his opinion? How could she make him see the truth without compromising herself? It was impossible and truly out of the question. She understood, as she went to her room that the next step was a decisive one. _"It's now or never."_ She told herself, letting a sigh escape from her lips. They had delayed this moment for almost a lifetime, had channeled their feelings towards work and family, but was it right to keep things like that? Life was now passing them by faster than ever before, should they wait any longer? Perhaps the next morning or during the afternoon they could talk and maybe he would be able to see in her eyes that she didn't reject him, that in fact she loved him and that his mere touch stirred the most inappropriate feelings in her.

She was not expecting Charles to still be there when she reached her bedroom door. But he was sitting in her bed while he settled Charlie in the laundry clothes basket that she had prepared carefully for his temporary accommodation, arranging the blankets around the baby carefully. It seemed that he was humming a tune in the lowest tone possible and once again she felt her heart sink into her chest.

Elsie closed the door silently behind her. He was again immersed in his thoughts and did not notice her, until a small hand touched his shoulder and he saw she had sat down beside him in the bed, watching him carefully.

Charles looked up and studied her, only to see a sweet smile on her lips. Was she smiling? At him? He only believed so when her hand, that had been touching his shoulder, moved to hold his hand. It was so small and delicate, and he noticed it was cold in contrast to his big, masculine and warm hand.

"Mrs. Hughes..." He tried to start, looking away from her eyes for a moment and losing the words along the way. She was waiting for an explanation for why he was still there, wasn't she?

Elsie's free hand touched his face, and he couldn't help but close his eyes as she gently traced the features of his face, eyebrows, nose, his cheek bone, slipping from his lips and chin. She knew those features so well, but touching them gave her a totally different perspective. Her smile grew wider and her heart beating grew hard and fast in her chest. Could he hear the beats?

"Little Charlie is not the only lucky Charlie." Elsie said finally, quietly, in a low voice.

Their eyes met and he felt his heart stop for a moment before returning to beating. Had she actually said that? Had she meant what he thought she did? He understood only when he held her against his chest and her arms wrapped tightly around him as she buried her face against his neck.

He closed his eyes and sighed with relief, planting a long kiss on her hair.

"I love you, Mrs. Hughes."

Elsie moved away from him enough to face him. An air of laughter had taken her face and she tried not to laugh out loud. "_My__Charlie_." She thought as she moved her face closed to his. Poor adorable man; still seemed not to believe it and was looking at her with bright eyes full of admiration. When their noses touched she murmured.

"And I, Mr. Carson, love you." And then their lips met.

* * *

><p>Not even when Charlie's crying woke him up at dawn he believed that he was there. Charles opened his eyes startled and looked around, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the gas lamp. Elsie slept beside him in the small single bed with her working clothes on and her hair pinned up. He felt his heart acquiesce, but before he could get immersed in the lovely image of her sleeping form beside him, he sat on the bed carefully and took Charlie in his arms before his cries could wake her up.<p>

"What is it? Do you want to join us?" He asked in a voice as low as possible so as not to wake her, cuddling the boy gently in his chest.

Elsie turned in the bed and opened her eyes as Charles leaned back in bed, with little Charlie on his chest and stroked the boy's back, who yawned and turned to look at Elsie before closing his eyes again. That baby loved her, he could see that and felt strangely satisfied, even with being awakened in the middle of the night from a deep sleep in a small bed shared and wearing his uniform.

"I thought I'd heard Charlie cry." She said hoarsely, getting her body closer to his.

He could say Elsie was as surprised as he was when he woke up, but surprised in an adorable happy and sleepy way. Her blue eyes looked so bright in the dim light and he felt trapped inside them for a long moment.

"You did, but it was nothing."

Little Charlie opened and closed his eyes again slowly, encouraging Elsie to smother his hair slightly before she rested her head on Charles's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his arm and getting herself comfortable to cuddle next to him. "I'm glad you stayed."

He couldn't see her face properly, but her body language told him all he needed to know. She was relaxed and cuddled next to him, sharing a bed, what more he could ask for? Well, he could think about some other things, but it was too early for any of that.

"I fell asleep, I didn't mean to."

"I'm glad anyway."

"So am I, my darling."

"Will we sleep like this every night?" She asked after a few seconds.

"You mean all dressed up?" He mocked with a soft smile, brushing his lips on her forehead, feeling her hand stroking his thigh.

"This is not part of my plains, at least not in a long term." Elsie laughed softly and turned her face up again, moving her lips closer, inches apart from his. "I meant together."

Was she trying to seduce him? Like she needed to do such a thing, he thought.

"I wouldn't mind sleeping next to you every night, but I would like to wear more comfortable clothes next time."

"You can use your pajamas for now."

"Elsie..."

"Hmm ..."

"Go back to sleep, love."

"Am I talking too much?"

"Probably, and giving me too many inappropriate ideas."

She gave him another faint smile and closed her eyes, falling asleep within seconds.

Charles Carson never considered himself a lucky man when love was the matter, not until that night.

**_THE END_  
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